Founding Brother Chapter 2 Essay
I Wish I’d Been There: Chapter 2
In 1692 happened one of the most tragic events in American history: Salem Witchcraft Trials. The Salem Witch Trials were court hearings involving prosecutions among many men and women living in the Massachusetts Bay Colony based on their supposed involvement in witchcraft. 19 innocent women and men were hung, four died in jail, and an old man was pressed to death by heavy rocks when he refused to stand for trial… how did this maelstrom start? Through social and political issues is how. Social and political aspects are the backbone of the Salem Witchcraft Trials and you will see how. The controversy started when Reverend Paris, a new ordained minister was not favored by many settlers in the colony. Reverend Paris first came on watch because of his daughter Elizabeth who was nine and his niece Abigail who was eleven. The two girls were constantly having fits and exhibiting strange behaviors. They blamed three women for afflicting the devil upon them: Tituba, a slave, Sarah Good, a homeless beggar, and Sarah Osborne, an elderly woman were all put on trials. Tituba confessed to being a witch and claiming the others were too. The first accusations started happening while there was a huge massacre of Indians in New Hampshire. People feared being attacked by Indians as many frontiers were among those being massacred. Young women and girls were seen on the low end of the social structure; they held no power.
There was a political division between the first Minister appointed to Salem Village in 1679, James Bayley and Reverend Samuel Parris, elected as minister in 1689. When the first accusations of witchcraft were voiced by his young daughter and niece and throughout the entire event, the ministers exploited the bizarre behavior of the girls to bolster their waning leadership. As the accusations were growing, the critics had raised sufficient doubts about the decisions of the special court to convince the governor to dissolve it.
In 1692 happened one of the most tragic events in American history: Salem Witchcraft Trials. The Salem Witch Trials were court hearings involving prosecutions among many men and women living in the Massachusetts Bay Colony based on their supposed involvement in witchcraft. 19 innocent women and men were hung, four died in jail, and an old man was pressed to death by heavy rocks when he refused to stand for trial… how did this maelstrom start? Through social and political issues is how. Social and political aspects are the backbone of the Salem Witchcraft Trials and you will see how. The controversy started when Reverend Paris, a new ordained minister was not favored by many settlers in the colony. Reverend Paris first came on watch because of his daughter Elizabeth who was nine and his niece Abigail who was eleven. The two girls were constantly having fits and exhibiting strange behaviors. They blamed three women for afflicting the devil upon them: Tituba, a slave, Sarah Good, a homeless beggar, and Sarah Osborne, an elderly woman were all put on trials. Tituba confessed to being a witch and claiming the others were too. The first accusations started happening while there was a huge massacre of Indians in New Hampshire. People feared being attacked by Indians as many frontiers were among those being massacred. Young women and girls were seen on the low end of the social structure; they held no power.
There was a political division between the first Minister appointed to Salem Village in 1679, James Bayley and Reverend Samuel Parris, elected as minister in 1689. When the first accusations of witchcraft were voiced by his young daughter and niece and throughout the entire event, the ministers exploited the bizarre behavior of the girls to bolster their waning leadership. As the accusations were growing, the critics had raised sufficient doubts about the decisions of the special court to convince the governor to dissolve it.